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Six Panthers Earn All-Conference Honors

Stelken, Sampson named first-team all-league

Ashten Stelken earned first-team All-MVC honors.

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Nov. 27, 2008

St. Louis, Mo. -

Six University of Northern Iowa volleyball players were named to All-Missouri Valley Conference volleyball teams, the league office announced today. Voting was done by the league’s head coaches.

Senior middle blocker Ashten Stelken and senior outside hitter Amy Sampson each earned first-team All-MVC accolades, while junior outside hitter Shannon Aschoff and sophomore libero Ellie Blankenship were chosen second-team all-conference. A pair of UNI freshmen, middle blocker Michelle Burow and setter Bre Payton, were named to the MVC all-freshman team.

Stelken, also a first-team All-MVC pick in 2007, was the Valley’s top blocker at 1.48 blocks per set, which currently ranks fifth-best in the nation. Her .269 attack percentage is ninth in the league and her 3.91 points per set is No. 5 in the conference. She is the league’s only player owning three conference matches with better than 11 total blocks, and her career blocking numbers of 520 block assists and 563 total blocks each rank third in UNI history. Stelken also has tallied 1,241 career kills, eighth in the Panther record books.

Sampson leads UNI at 3.30 kills per set, which also ranks fifth in the Valley. She recorded double-digit kills in 19 matches, more than any other member of the Panther squad. She became the 19th player in Panther history to top 1,000 career kills, and currently is tied for 13th on the Panthers’ all-time list with 1,111. Sampson has hit better than .300 in 10 matches this season, including three matches over .500.

Aschoff earns her first second-team selection after earning all-freshman honors in 2006. She averaged 2.80 kills per set en route to her 3.22 points per set, which both rank 12th in the conference. Aschoff had nine Valley matches with double-digit kills and added eight matches with double-digit digs. Her career average of 2.82 kills per set currently ranks 14th all-time in UNI history.

Blankenship, a member of last season’s all-freshman squad, also earns her first second-team all-conference nod. She ranks third in the Valley in digs, averaging 5.53 per set, and her 5.56 digs per set in all matches is sixth in the nation. Blankenship became the 11th player in UNI history to reach 1,000 career digs, and currently ranks fifth on the Panthers’ all-time list with 1,208 digs. She had a career-high 38 digs against Illinois State on Oct. 24, and has reached double-digits in digs in 29 of 30 matches this year.

Redshirt freshman Burow leads all freshmen in blocking and is fifth overall in the conference, averaging 1.05 blocks per set, and also ranks in the top-15 among all players in both hitting percentage and service aces. In Valley matches, she recorded 10 matches with 10 total blocks, including four with six total blocks and a career-high of eight at Bradley on Nov. 8.

Payton, also a redshirt freshman, ranks seventh in the league in assists per set, averaging 9.88, while setting at a .333 clip during Valley matches. She has tallied seven matches with 40 or more assists, and also ranks fourth among all freshmen in digs per set with 2.52.

UNI, 23-7 overall, is the #3 seed at this week’s State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship. The Panthers will face sixth-seeded Evansville tonight at 6 pm in the first round.

2008 MVC Volleyball All-Conference First Team

Amanda Cvejdlik, CU, Sr., OH

Jessica Houts, CU, Jr., MB

Korie Lebeda, CU, Sr., S

Erin Lindsey, ILS, Sr., S

Peggy Riessen, ILS, Jr., OH

Calli Norman, MSU, Fr., MB

Sara Staubach, MSU, Jr., OH

Amy Sampson, UNI, Sr., OH

Ashten Stelken, UNI, Sr., MB

Jennifer Berwanger, SIU, So., OH

Kelly Broussard, WSU, Sr., L